With conservation comes enforcement

Josh Nauman writes a "fix-it" notice for water ordinance violations in the 5000 block of West Feemster Avenue in Visalia on Tuesday, July 1,2014. He is a Water Conservation Education Coordinator for the the City.(Photo: Ron Holman)

More often than not, people just don't know they're violating the city's water ordinance and wasting one of its most valuable natural resources.

That's what Josh Nauman said he has found in a year of driving the city of Visalia on a daily basis.

"They know something changed with the regulations, but they aren't sure what. They go off what they think, which isn't always what they're supposed to," said Nauman, a water conservation education coordinator with the city of Visalia. "Sprinklers go off in the early morning or late at night when people aren't aware of them. We patrol those times so we can make people aware of what their sprinklers are doing when they aren't paying attention."

Josh Nauman patrols for water ordinance violations in Visalia on Tuesday, July 1, 2014. This sprinkler on Conyer Street near Center Street resulted in a notice for watering on the wrong day, over watering and excessive runoff. Permits are available for new plantings like this this but excessive watering and runoff are still issues. He is a Water Conservation Education Coordinator for the the City.
(Photo:
Ron Holman
)

The city of Visalia has three part-time coordinator positions, two of which have been active since before natural resource conservation manager Kim Loeb arrived at the city in 2009. They work an average of 20 hours a week. The third position was created after the Stage 4 water restrictions were approved by city council in March.

Visalia's Water Conservation Ordinance has four stages of water-use restrictions and the city had been in Stage 3 since 1991.

Stage 4 heightens the restrictions because California is in one of the worst droughts in its history.

"It's to get out late at night or early in the morning when we haven't had a lot of eyes out there," Loeb said. "Sometimes things can happen in the middle of night and people never see them so they don't know."

Stage 4 went into effect in April in response to the statewide drought, but many residents are still wondering exactly what it means. While on patrol, Nauman is available to explain.

"[Coordinators] have a dual role of both educating and enforcing our ordinance," Loeb said. "They educate folks about water conservation and as well as enforcing the ordinance."

As of April, at least 45 water agencies throughout California had imposed and enforced mandatory restrictions on water use, according to the Associated Press.

The issues

Loeb said there can be problems like overwatering, broken sprinklers and watering on the wrong day.

"We now have eyes out there to see that. That's a big change," Loeb said. "It's an additional tool we didn't have before."

Among those Nauman warned on Tuesday morning was a local dentist's office watering its lawn on the wrong day and a home with a broken sprinkler. A yellow "water leak" flag was placed where the issue was located.

Watering is permitted three days a week through September. For even addresses, watering is allowed on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. For odd addresses it's on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

"[The office was] trying to get new grass established," Nauman said. "I gave them a notice, information on how to better water the area, plant establishment permit information so they can water more often and told him about better ways to align sprinklers so he doesn't have so much runoff."

Nauman and Loeb agree that reaction to the city's "water cops" has been mostly positive, especially this year because locals understand the state is in a drought.

The majority of notices have been to first-time offenders that have generally appreciated being told they were wasting water. Under Stage 4, if they have another violation within a 12-month period, they'll receive a $100 fine.

City spokeswoman Nancy Loliva said the city has an ongoing education effort that also started after Stage 4 was implemented. They're distributing water conservation inserts and mailings and have also purchased time on the radio and local TV stations.

"This campaign is going on through the end of the year to continue to make people aware of the ongoing need," she said. "It's important to stress this is actually a long-term effort, long-education and long-term awareness about conserving our resource."

Josh Nauman left an indicator flag and a "fix-it" notice for water ordinance violations in the 5000 block of West Feemster Avenue in Visalia on Tuesday, July 1,2014. He is a Water Conservation Education Coordinator for the the City.(Photo: Ron Holman)

"If you're watering manually, with a hose or sprinkler, set a timer for yourself," he said. "If you're running an automatic sprinkler system, you want to check it regularly — at least every couple of weeks — and look for leaks. If there's a glitch in the power, sometimes timers get reset."

Overall, city officials have found the water conservation education coordinators to be very effective.

"It's important to stress we are seeing a reduction in our water usage. For April and May, the overall average was about 17 percent. It is paying off," Loliva said. "We want our citizens to continue doing their part to save water because every drop counts."

On patrol in Tulare

Fifteen miles south, the city of Tulare started a water waste patrol about a month ago and has seen an improvement in the water pressure in the north of town.

"Right now, we're able to handle it with our water staff that is doing two hours in the morning," said Trisha Whitfield, Tulare Public Works field services manager. "…if someone calls in, we respond, but we actively patrol in the morning."

In August, Tulare City Council is voting on a water surcharge that will add two temporary employees to the city staff to monitor water usage in the city.

Tulare hasn't limited watering days by month the way the city of Visalia has. Watering is permitted three days a week year-round. For even addresses that is Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. For odd addresses it's on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Watering is not allowed on Mondays.

"We're trying to help our pressure problems in the north end of town. That's where are biggest problems are," Whitfield said. "We have been concentrating on the north end, that's where we've experienced the low pressure. We're expanding that in July into a larger area."

In the month the water waste patrol has been out, 563 warnings have been issued for violating the current water ordinance. There have been 34 people that have received second letters with $35 fines and three received third letters with $70 fines. So far, no one has received a fourth letter with a $150 fine.

REPORTING VIOLATIONS

To report water issue in the city of Visalia, call the Natural Resource Conservation Department at (559) 713-4531.